Sleeping Problems

[sunset]

I had an issue for a while, probably due to stress. Best thing I found was a hard workout sometime in the morning or afternoon, but definitely not in the evening. Working out too close to sleep time only makes the matter worse.

[Cyclonepride]

Yeah, second the workout thing too- much better to naturally deplete your energy (plus it releases good things in your body and burns the bad things)

[oldman]

I wake up at about 3:00 am almost every night (morning I guess). I attribute it to my middle daughter, who, from infancy until about 4 yrs, would thrash around enough to uncover herself, then cry because she got cold right around that time. It sucks if I have lots of crap going on at work, because I'll lay there thinking about that stuff. Or if the radio is still on, as "Coast to Coast" is on then, and there's always some bizarre storyline.

What I often do, is tell myself that even though I'm not sleeping, I'm still getting rest. This seems to ease my mind enough that I'll fall back asleep. When I've got work or other pressures going on, I'll think a prayer about it, which will helps calm me also (not that I'm a preacher or anything).

[guitarchitect7]

This must be going around as this past week I've struggled to sleep. I do usually fall asleep, but frequently wake up throughout the night. Last night was the worst as I was uncomfortable most of the night.

[2forISU]

Read a book.

[snowcraig2.0]

Two suggestions,

Exercise about 5 hours of so before you go to bed.

If you can't sleep, don't fight it. Get up and do something.

[BMFClone]

No caffeine at least 5 hours before bedtime.

exercise during day - but not less than 5 hours before bedtime.

Try turning on a fan or something that provides constant, but not loud, noise. I have a homedics device that I use religiously every night. I turn it to "waterfall", and that helps me tremendously. There are other settings like "summer's night" and "thunder", but the "waterfall" is my dr. feelgood!

Don't drink ANYTHING right before bed -- 'cause if you're over 40 like myself, you will have to get up at night to pee if you do!

[MC CrappinHawks]

Smoke one, a green one, I promise you will sleep.

[enisthemenace]

Try everything possible before turning to sleep medications. The side effects of these drugs can be frieghtening, making the problem worse. I will tell anyone who listens that sleep medications especially Ambien, are the worst things ever invented. I fully expect to see a "1-800-BAD-DRUG" commercial for Ambien.

My wife had a hard time sleeping during 'our' 2nd pregnancy. Her Dr perscribed this nasty ******. I did not recognize her for a week, before she stopped taking it. She would act very strangely when awake and even worse at night.
Try anything and everything before turning to perscription drugs.

[isucyfan]

Here's what my situation is:

I tend to have trouble getting to sleep on Sunday nights, because I stay up later and tend to enjoy afternoon naps on the weekends. Plus, I always think about everything I need to do the following work week, and my mind starts to race and I can't shut it off.

So, on Sunday nights, about 20 minutes before I want to turn in, I take two Benadryls. It helps a ton.

[MNclone]

I second the recommendation for Melatonin. My son had major sleep issues, and his sleep specialist recommended that. It is not habit forming, and doesnt appear to have any side affects. It is a naturally occuring substance in the body anyway. If I have a night that I cant fall asleep, I pop one and it knocks me right out. It is easy to find and cheap too.
We got a lot of assurances from the sleep specialist before we put my son on it.

[San Francisco Cy]

One thing that has helped me is counting backwards. I pick a relatively large number, like several hundreds or thousand and countdown slowly, thinking about each number. That's helped a few times. There's also a natural supplement, melatonin. You can use it regularly about 15-20 minutes before you want to get to sleep, and it can help. I've found it most effective after I've had a couple of beers, but I'm sure that's not necessarily recommended...

[CyBer]

I recently started sleeping better (lots of worrying about things before I went to sleep) and it feels great!

Maybe your brain just can't turn off?

[cycloneworld]

Thanks for all of the ideas and advice. Interesting that melatonin was mentioned several times. After researching it appears to not have any side effects. I may give it a try.

[CloneIce]

I occasionally go through periods where I have trouble sleeping. They re-occur occasionally ever few months to a year. Generally they seem to be triggered by work related stress, or sometimes just the stresses of life. They never happen on weekends unless I have something important to do like a long drive or travel. I don't sleep as much as you normally either (usually about 6 a night, 7 on a good night).

As others have noted, what works best for me is some very hard exercise after work, enough to wear me out completely. Fishing works great for me as it really clears the mind for me personally. Also, sex before bed helps but that isn't always an option if your single. I find that alcohol will help me get to sleep, but I end up not getting as much rest out of my sleep/waking up alot during the night, unless I drink a ton... and to drink that much I'd be a mess for work in the morning.